What's Good, Scott?

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Hello and welcome to What's Good Scott. "I'll tell you hwhat" (Hank Hill voice) things have been getting really ugly lately. When I stare out into the blackness of night I find that my grim outlook is meeting with the bleak prospects of tomorrow...

-sigh-

Have you ever been to Rockville, Maryland? I haven't, but I want to. Besides being the birthplace of Jamshid Amouzegar, the former Prime Minister of Iran and famed film director Spike Jonze, Rockville also has a "friendship relationship" (one step below being a sister city) with Jiaxing in the People's Republic of China. That's a lot of very strange and intriguing things to be wrapped up in a small city with over 60,000 people. I want to go to Black Rock, but it doesn't even have to be physical...I want to go to "Black Rock" in my mind. Let me explain...

O.A.R., or Of A Revolution, is an American rock band that has delighted fans with their "jam rock" style of music for two decades. There is a casual, yet professional vibe that makes them infectious to me. To expound upon this, I can tell you that while their music sounds effortless, there are many components. You can find the same level of musical mastery in the studio as you find on the stage. I'm rarely left unsatisfied by an O.A.R. jam, but "Black Rock" hits the spot like none other.

When you hear the first version of "Black Rock," recorded on 1997's "The Wanderer," it is somewhat lackluster. A little bit fast, a little unspirited, and a whole lot of potential fill out the undertones of what would become my favorite song.

But then, as jam bands typically do, they started performing it live and it just got better and better. There are multiple live recordings of "Black Rock." They have some things in common, but every live recording has it's own idiosyncrasies and special bits of white guy, reggae magic. Things in common are as follows:

There is always the Black Rock

There is always guitars

Fighting alone is always the worst damn way that you can fight

There is always an old man (spoiler alert, his name is Old Man Time)

As these live performances go, they get real funky. Listen to how sexy this one gets... I mean, he says "Red Rocks" instead of "Black Rock." Awesome.

Sometimes there is blood pouring all over Mark Roberge, but no matter what happens in the midst of the song...no matter where it takes him, he brings it back to his desire for love to be an all-encompassing force in our lives. I have great affection for these live recordings and collected them into Spotify and Youtube playlists to share. I think that you will like them as well.

Friday, September 29, 2017

2007 was a magical year for a lot of reasons. Apple released the very first Iphone, revolutionizing how smart our phones could be. Jared Zabransky, Ian Johnson and the 2007 Boise State Broncos upset Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl using trick plays (more on this later). And finally, video game developer, Harmonix created a revolution.

Rockband took the idea of "What if we could play Guitar Hero, but with more instruments?" and made it a reality. Rockband came out in 2007 and featured controllers in the guise of drums, guitars and microphones. It was ingenious because to play the guitar, you would push buttons in sequence, whilst holding the controller like a guitar or banging on the drums in a pattern reflected on the screen. This gave the game the ability to conjure feelings in those who played it. If you always wanted to be in a band, this was your shot (to at least feel like it). The track listing was varied and offered a little something for everyone.

Groups of friends flocked to this as a new way to game together and it got a lot of play in all different age groups and on multiple gaming platforms. Harmonix had created a form of in-home karaoke...and people loved it for many different reasons. You could utilize button pushing skills to feel like you were employing music playing skills and the correlation was strong enough to make even the N00biest basement dweller feel like a rock star. It was wonderfully new.

Fast forward to 2016, nearly 10 years later. I am an old man with an Xbox One and play games like Fallout 4 and Metal Gear Solid 5 frequently. I still like to sing, although not as good at it as I used to be and love music and the celebration of it. All of these things led me to wondering whatever happened to Rockband. In moments of internet searching, I realized that a 4th version had just come out and was available! Now, all I had to do was raise tons of money.

I will sometimes get obsessed with things and pursue them with reckless abandon. My mind became filled with and fixated on the idea of how cool it would be to have Rockband. I crunched numbers and no matter what I did, I could not come up with the scratch. No matter how hard I tried to procure it, Rockband ended up being given to me by our dear friend, Preston as a gift. We had 3 plastic instruments, a usb microphone, and a bottle of tequila...it was on.

Rockband became a regular staple in our Saturday night hang outs and it was as good, if not better than ever. My wife shredded the guitar with the precision that she brings to most puzzle games, Preston tossed a couple of shots and rocked the drums sped up on hard mode, and I piled up 100% song completions with the microphone. It was joyous and not because it was a game or the peripheral controllers were cool....it was because it was simple, interactive fun. Whether we won or lost, whether we were sober or trashed, no matter what it was a mirthful experience had by all.

Not only was Rockband fun, but it was an informative activity for me. I could hear new parts of music stick out and tantalize my ears. Solos that I had never paid much attention to suddenly became physical expressions of how interesting and creative music could be. Bands that I had never heard of found new ways to impress me. I was obsessed with .38 Special for God's sakes...

Anyways, if you are looking for a way to unwind with friends or experience music or spend $300+ then Rockband on the current generation systems (Xbox One/PS4) is What's Good, Scott. Thanks for reading and if you did not read the post before this, know that I am grateful to you for sticking with me. Be well and I will see you soon.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Hey. It's been a while. Nice to see you again. Thank you for your patience during my hiatus. Some things changed for me with my employment and my financial situation and I haven't seen much that has been good, lately. My heart was damaged by people that I trusted, my spirit has been broken, and my mind has been consumed by fear and sadness. The world is very frightening and my place in it is very unstable. In the wake of all of this misfortune, I stopped listening to my own advice. The entire point of this blog was forgotten. My mind naturally/constantly focuses on darkness and this blog was supposed to be a way for me to actively work against it. Instead, I gave up and lost it.

So, to be clear....I am still not doing great, but I am here and being here is a pretty decent achievement for some people. Like Stella, I am going to try to get my groove back and whether I succeed or not, I am still gonna' be here. I am moving forward and that's "What's Good." There will be new posts on this blog, because there are still things that are "good." They might be harder to find, but I will not give up. I am still here. Thank you for being here with me.

Friday, June 16, 2017

What is “good Scott”? Hang on, I read that wrong… Wait,
where am I? Uh oh…

*turns around* Oh, hello. I’m Hal. I play Scott’s
brother and co-admin on his other blog: ComicalMusings. Scott left both blogs open in the same browser window, so
I wandered over here because I can do that. But if you’re reading this… then
that means it’s an actual post…
…so I need to talk about something good?

Okay. Let’s do this right. Welcome to “What’s Good, Scott?”
(note the comma). I’m not Scott. I’m Hal, but I still appreciate good things.
The question is: which one should I pontificate about today? The Talking Heads,
the Deep Dream Generator, the book of Jonah… those are all good, but no. I
could write about Scott. He’s good. “What’s good: Scott” …nah. Too meta, too
meta. Today I think I’ll write about…

Conditioner. Like for
your hair? Yes. Surprising? Perhaps, but it is good none-the-less. And I
almost missed it.

Like most of us, I formed a lot of opinions and
pre-determinations as I was growing up. One of them was that the best shampoo
came in a green bottle labeled “Pert Plus.” It was best because the bottle and
the corresponding TV ads boldly proclaimed that it contained shampoo PLUS
conditioner, IN ONE! My child brain didn’t really understand what that meant,
but it sounded like a miracle of modern science. Another misinformed opinion I
had in my youth was that only girls needed more than one bottle of stuff to put
in their hair. And Pert Plus gave me two hair things in one bottle, giving me
twice the follicular benefits while allowing me to maintain my status as a
manly-dude-child. It also didn’t hurt that my favorite color is green.

So from an early age, I was aware of “conditioner” as a
thing. But I was also aware that shower scientists could mix it with shampoo,
so anyone buying it separately was getting played (and was probably a little girly).
This worked out fine while I was a husky kid with a buzz-cut, but in middle
school I started to grow my hair out. At first, my hair was crispy and gross
(almost as if the slogan “shampoo plus conditioner, in one” was just a
marketing gimmick).

I don’t remember when, but at some point my mom suggested
that I might want to start using conditioner. It was a game changer. I’ve been
using it ever since. Thanks mom. (What’s good, Hal? Mom’s advice.)

For real, conditioner made a significant difference. My hair
is softer. It smells nicer. But more importantly, it breaks less. This is
kind-of a big deal because I grow it out to donate it. (What’s good, Hal?
Tooting your own horn.) Look, I didn’t bring it up to brag. It’s not that
fancy. When people ask, “What have you ever done to help other people?” saying,
“Well, I didn’t get a haircut for a long time,” sounds like a silly answer. But
if you’ve ever considered donating your hair, I encourage you to do so. (What’s
good, Hal? Helping other people in unconventional ways.) (You know what else is
good? Imagining that somewhere out in the world some other person is wearing my
old hair. I never really thought about that before. It’s a little creepy, but
also good.)

Long story short, my hair breaks less and it’s in better condition ;) so I have better hair to
donate. Because if I’m going to give someone else my hair, I want it to be in
good shape, not nasty and frizzy.

But even if you don’t donate your hair, if you haven’t tried
conditioner, I encourage you to check it out. You might like the results. It’s
the small things, ya’ know? If you’re a dude, don’t trip. You’ll still be
manly. Some gents even use conditioner on their beards. And I guarantee it is
420% less stupid than “romphims.” (What’s good, Hal? Not romphims!)

Anyway, my point is: I listened to good advice, I got over
my preconceptions, and I found a way to take better care of myself. (What’s
good, Hal? Taking care of yourself.) And by doing so, it has been a benefit to others.
(What else is good, Hal? Benefiting others.) So take care of yourself. We need
you.

I’ll now return you to your regularly scheduled feel-good
blog reading, while I try to figure out how to get out of here. I hope I’ll see
you again. The next time you see me I might have different hair, but rest
assured it will be well conditioned. L’chaim.

Friday, June 9, 2017

Food is good. Some is good for your body, some is good for your taste buds. Food is cyclical and time sensitive. People have food memories. People go into food comas. Food is good, but that's not what today is about. Today, we are going to talk about a specific food. This is a food that has been with me for years. I, of course, am talking about bean and cheese tacos.

Friday, June 2, 2017

Welcome to "What's Good, Scott?" the blog where we aim to answer that titular question weekly. This is a place where you will find funny (hopefully) suggestions for "Good" foods, music, experiences, etc... to try. I share and suggest in a hope that you will partake in the suggested items and find as much joy in them as I do. Today, I am going to zag on you a bit.